Making the Most of Who's Who in Business

Making the most of who's who in business means proactively networking

By Missy Duncan

Making the most of who's who in business requires honed networking skills and time. Networking events and seminars, online who's who in business lists and databases, and networking through referrals are all great ways to expand your contacts list. Simply contacting relevant professionals is not enough to truly make a who's who in business list profitable for your company.

There is a difference between forming contacts with the who's who of business and forming relationships with them. The latter is a honed skill, takes time to perfect and is the key to successful networking. Having a two-minute conversation with someone and exchanging business cards is unlikely to open any new doors for your business. Forming relationships with the who's who in American business requires you to be memorable. Here are some tips:

1. Look for quality contacts in who's who in business publications.

2. Find specialty groups of who's who in business to locate leads.

3. Learn skills to impress those in the who's who in business.

Seek quality over quantity of contacts in finding out who is who in business

This is a huge part of making the most of your networking strategy. You'll benefit much more from spending half an hour forming relationships with five strong prospective who's who business clients than from circulating an event or seminar and having brief conversations with 30 people.
Try: LinkedIn is online business networking databases and interface that provides those on the who is who in business list. FastPitch! allows you to contact business who's who members for networking and sales.

Join specialty groups of who is who in business to locate leads

In order for a relationship to form and grow there usually has to be a degree of rapport and commonality between two people. who's who in American business networking groups are for certain populations or demographics. These already qualified professional contacts are right up your alley since there is already a common ground established.
Try: Christian Business Networking brings together business professionals that share similar religious beliefs. My Women's Business Network brings together female business professionals.

Hone your skills to impress those in the who is who in business

Effective networking is a learned skill and one that can be improved and perfected with training and practice. To make the most of your business networking opportunities, educate yourself on the who's who of business networking strategies.
Try: Entrepreneur is a respected publication with informative articles about effective and profitable networking. Grass Roots Networking focuses on teaching online and collective networking strategies.

When networking with the who's who of business, be articulate in explaining what you do and how a prospective contact could be of help to your business, and vice versa. It's best to be clear on how you can both benefit from the business relationship.

Making the Most of Who's Who in Business